


Chartered

by tilimwornout



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), CEO Kang Seulgi, F/F, Flight Attendant Park Sooyoung, Fluff, Meet-Cute, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:14:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27274771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tilimwornout/pseuds/tilimwornout
Summary: Sooyoung doesn’t have time to fall in love. But she does appreciate falling for random passengers here and there, strangers in lobbies, locals in the places she visits.She keeps one rule to keep her job and sanity: don’t get involved.or flight attendant Park Sooyoung, frequent flyer Kang Seulgi, and an inscribed pen she can't seem to return.
Relationships: Kang Seulgi/Park Sooyoung | Joy
Comments: 8
Kudos: 54





	Chartered

**Author's Note:**

> A little Joygi one-shot for your troubles. It's a difficult time for our five girls but we'll make it through. Inspired by the FA that thanked Seulgi for her pen on their flight back from NK.

While it’s a job others try to discredit, Sooyoung takes pride in her job as a flight attendant.

University was difficult and achieving the physical fitness companies looked for wasn’t easy. She considered herself lucky to have a good head start: she was born tall and pretty.

Her determination to provide for family and get a better chance at life helped her power through. After passing her probationary period of solely domestic flights, she finally got to use her passport to visit new countries for the first time.

The job pays well, what with the risk of a crash every time the plane leaves the runway. She’s able to fulfill her duties as the eldest by paying for her sisters’ school fees and because she works at a highly competitive international airline, spoiling herself followed soon after.

Every occupation has its share of trouble. There are always highly entitled passengers, crying babies, screaming children, awful things to clean up.

Then there are more interesting stories. Celebrities on flights, state officials and heads of conglomerates, and the lavatory being occupied for a little too long by one too many people than it’s designed for.

Comfort comes in the form of her fellow flight crew in the company-provided living quarters, crying over missing their moms. She figured she could be a bit more grateful. Some of her friends come from Busan and Daegu. Incheon is only an hour away from Seoul.

She’s on another red-eye flight from Fukuoka when she’s tasked to distribute the Health Information Cards for in-bound passengers. It’s a relatively short flight and the company shuttle will take them back to their quarters after landing in Gimpo.

Passengers on this route are often frequent flyers. They know the drill. She also hands out a few immigration arrival cards for foreigners as well.

The toughest part of this task is always the heavy sleepers.

She’s one herself but she thinks the woman in front of her could beat her. The passenger is slumping on her seat, snoring with her mouth open, and if not for her neck pillow, she would have probably fallen into the lap of the elderly gentleman next to her.

“Excuse me, miss,” she says, smiling politely in case the passenger wakes up suddenly.

If she remembers correctly, this woman is also Korean. It’s a much appreciated break from all the English and Japanese from early today.

She taps her again. “We’re landing soon, and it will be more convenient for you to fill up the health card now.”

The passenger stirs awake and Sooyoung nearly sighs in relief. She holds out the card, repeats the instructions, and allows herself to appreciate how cute this woman is.

Even celebrities have trouble pulling off this kind of effortless look. This woman could roll out of bed and still look adorable. Feline, monolid eyes, a high nose, and defined cheekbones softened by round cheeks.

Sooyoung doesn’t have time to fall in love. But she does appreciate falling for random passengers here and there, strangers in lobbies, locals in the places she visits.

She keeps one rule to keep her job and sanity: don’t get involved.

“Thank you, Sooyoung,” the woman says, squinting to read her name tag. She feels her heart do a thing when the passenger looks up and smiles and she knows she has to look away.

She turns her attention to the other side of the aisle.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have a pen on me,” a mother one row behind says. Her husband is asleep by the window while their well-behaved son is along the aisle. Sooyoung makes a mental note to give him a lollipop before they land.

“You can borrow mine, ma’am,” the cute passenger from earlier says. She offers the pen, reaching out across the aisle with pretty, slender fingers.

When the mother thanks her, the flight attendant instinctively helps her pass it along and notices a name inscribed on the pen.

“Thank you, Miss... Seulgi,” Sooyoung says as she hands it back. The smile on her face is genuine, naturally warm instead of the trained polite one she usually has on. Small moments of kindness always makes her feel like her job is something more.

“You can keep it,” Kang Seulgi says. With her being a little more awake, her voice sounds so warm and caring. “In case anyone else needs one later.”

There isn’t much time to protest, not when she has to move along. She thanks her again and no one ends up needing the pen, but she doesn’t get the chance to give it back.

As the plane is cleared of passengers upon landing, Sooyoung is in charge of doing inventory for any unsold food and beverages. She only notices her choice of writing instrument when she’s done.

Seulgi was too nice and cute for her to get rid of it.

The pen joins her small collection of trinkets from her travels, the only one to come from a plane and not a layover.

It’s not a fountain pen but it looks and feels expensive. It writes well, appears to be refillable, and she takes it out to write random things every now and then so it wouldn’t dry out.

She would have the chance to return it someday, right?

She’s on a flight bound to Macau weeks later, tasked to help passengers find their assigned seats. She doesn’t even flinch when a middle-aged woman berates her, saying it’s her job to help put her luggage in the overhead cabin even if it isn’t.

“I’ll do it,” a familiar voice offers, smiling apologetically at Sooyoung. All she can do is smile back and hold back a more mischievous grin when she notices Seulgi is actually shorter than her.

She’s strong, though. The bag looked heavy and she put it in place so effortlessly. Sooyoung whispers her thanks when she returns to check if the overhead cabins are properly shut.

Sooyoung raises her brows, intrigued, when Seulgi asks for hot chocolate instead of coffee or tea. Today’s free snacks are croissants and since it’s an early flight, the choice doesn’t seem so questionable.

Seulgi gets to tell her to enjoy the city as she gets off. She says she will (and she does) even as she forgets to return the pen she’s brought on all of her flights since.

“A friend?” her crewmate, Hayoung, asks.

“You can say that,” she replies.

For a while, no one catches her attention the way Seulgi did.

She’s close to logging 65 hours this month and she hasn’t felt anything stronger than quick appreciation for good-looking strangers.

She shyly returns a flirtatious smile from a top actress but nothing makes her beam the way she does when she catches a familiar name while boarding passengers on a flight from Singapore to Incheon.

“You fly a lot,” she comments playfully during their brief interaction. From what she saw on Seulgi’s passport, the frequent flyer is older by two years.

“So do you,” the passenger replies, giggling at her own joke.

Up close, Sooyoung can see a chin dimple and how Seulgi’s bottom lip is fuller than the other, how appealing it looks when the tip of her tongue peeks out to wet it as if out of habit.

It’s going to be a while until she forgets her. If she does at all, considering Seulgi keeps ending up in flights Sooyoung’s on.

Although it’s awkward, they have another moment while waiting at the lavatory.

“It’s for business.”

“Huh?” a hand goes up to cover Sooyoung’s mouth. Although they’ve gotten familiar with each other, that was not a way to talk to a passenger.

Seulgi laughs without sound, rocking on the balls of her feet in impatience. “It’s why I fly around a lot.”

“What do you do?” she asks, saying a quiet prayer of thanks when the person in the lavatory finally flushes.

The door unlocks and a teenage boy apologizes for keeping them waiting.

“You have my name,” Seulgi replies before she goes in. “Look me up.”

Sooyoung curses herself for not thinking of that, and again when she finds out who Seulgi is. She should probably know someone like her.

Kang Seulgi is a former member of a top project girl group. Sooyoung heard of them in high school and was familiar with their hits even if she never cared enough to look into the members.

When their contract ended, the other members continued their careers in the spotlight while Seulgi decided she was more passionate about helping others achieve their dreams.

She continued to work under her agency as a vocal trainer and dance instructor before eventually setting out to start her own idol training company.

Her frequent flights appear to be, based on recent reports, part of their efforts to scout fresh talent from across Asia to train in Korea.

“Management is too big of a responsibility,” the founder of Ace Academy says in an interview Sooyoung watched. “I have confidence in my training skills and my team’s, but I know our trainees are better off in places with the expertise and resources they would need to succeed.”

If the speculations were right, that’s something that’s about to change soon.

There’s an impressive roster of former trainees on their website. Sooyoung ponders for a while that if she ever dreamed of becoming an idol back then, Seulgi would have been the right person to ask for help.

The next time Sooyoung sees Seulgi is at the airport. She's a bit earlier than she should be and that's good because she couldn't help but stop and stare.

It's still the colder end of spring and she's in a flowy striped button down tucked into white jeans, a folded jacket draped on one arm.

Her hair is usually tied up during flights but right now it cascades down her shoulders in soft, brown waves.

She's talking to a child who looks just like her and Sooyoung would have assumed the worst if not for the man who approached, also a replica of the woman. By the way they're bickering in no time, it's no doubt he's an older brother.

Seulgi looks off to the distance as the man tends to the child and her eyes meet Sooyoung's.

The flight attendant waves hesitantly and Seulgi waves back with a big smile after squinting at her for a while.

"So her eyesight is really bad," she laughs to herself as she moves towards the crew lounge. "It wasn't because she just woke up."

She’s surprised when Seulgi recognizes her on a day-off. Sooyoung doesn’t usually wear makeup when she doesn’t have to. It keeps her skin healthy and free from breakouts.

The older girl jogs up to her while she’s sipping on a protein shake after a run at the local park.

“You live in Incheon?” Sooyoung asks, the surprise showing in her tone. After all, Seoul is the heart of the entertainment industry.

“In Songdo, actually,” Seulgi replies shyly, looking otherworldly in leggings and a cropped sleeveless tee.

It's there under the sun that she sees her skin is golden.

She looks away before she’s caught admiring the other woman’s toned body. Since when was she so smitten?

“I know this sounds counterproductive,” Seulgi says so quietly, Sooyoung thought she imagined it. “But I was thinking of getting pancakes and it would be nice if you could join me.”

“I have a figure to maintain,” she replies, breaking into a smile right away so the older woman knows she’s joking. “But I guess some pancakes won’t hurt.”

The pancakes are great, the company is even better. Seulgi is a bit of a loser despite her put-together and successful public image. She makes lame jokes and Sooyoung still laughs because it’s been a while since she’s talked to someone who isn’t family or a coworker.

It’s her turn to learn about Sooyoung because Seulgi’s life story is on the internet for anyone to see.

Sooyoung is 28 and passed the rigorous application process on her first try for this airline. She applied for two others prior, but it only took her less than a year after college to fly the skies.

(“It’s good you got into my airline of choice then,” Seulgi comments. Sooyoung doesn’t press her when she looks flustered as she says that.)

She loves singing, thought she could have also been a teacher, and if she wasn't away all the time she would have wanted a dog.

Her youngest sister (Sooyoung is the eldest of three girls) recently graduated from college.

“It’s time I considered business ideas for when I eventually resign,” she shares, a little too vulnerable than she usually allows.

While there’s no written rule her job is only for the young and beautiful, she knows this isn’t something she can do forever. 

There’s the option to work in an airline based in a country that doesn’t have age-bound, hellish beauty standards but it’s too late for her now.

Some girls are lucky. They manage to find jobs in adjacent fields or go back to what they studied in university.

Others only stay long enough to attract a rich man to marry or save up and start a business.

“Fashion or fitness,” she answers when Seulgi asks about what she has in mind for now. “Or I could copy you.”

“You want to train aspiring flight attendants?”

Sooyoung smiles. It was half a joke but she can see herself doing it. “There are many, established academies doing that now but as long as the hiring process remains cutthroat, maybe there’s something new I could offer.”

“I like your ambition,” the older woman says. “I used to wonder too, then, how would I be any different from the other training companies that already exist.”

“You were a member of a top girl group,” the flight attendant points out. “That’s the difference. And if those TV features were right, you instill a different kind of mindset and diligence.”

Seulgi shakes her head. “When I told you to look me up, I didn’t expect you to dig so deep.”

“I got a little invested,” she replies. Her eyes widened when she realized what her words could imply. “You’re inspiring, I mean.”

If the other woman had an inkling of how she feels, it doesn’t show.

“By any chance,” Seulgi begins. “Do you still have my pen?”

What was Sooyoung supposed to say? ‘Yeah, it’s in my bag right now'? She decides to say only the first word, but the full sentence comes out.

Seulgi starts giggling and holds her hand out. Those pretty, slender fingers Sooyoung honestly hasn’t stopped wondering about.

Before she could do something dumb, the flight attendant realizes she’s waiting for her to hand it back.

“You kept it for so long but you didn’t figure this out,” Seulgi teased, disassembling the pen to reveal a piece of paper inside the barrel. “I’m not as smooth as I thought.”

“Is this… your number?”

The CEO scratches her nape and nods, looking fairly embarrassed as she puts the pen back together. “We’ve met a few times since so I hope my assumptions are true.”

Sooyoung stares at the digits before her. How could she have missed that?

“Assumptions?”

Seulgi leans over, resting her elbows on the table before she speaks with a rather timid voice. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since we met. I was hoping you haven’t stopped thinking about me.”

The flight attendant lets herself grin, looking down at her lap before reaching for Seulgi’s hands. “No. I mean. Yes. I never stopped thinking about you either.”

She looks up to meet those eyes, that smile that completely captivated her.

“Are you getting a relatively long break any time soon?” the older woman asks. She looks like she’s going to keep smiling forever. Maybe Sooyoung would like it if she would.

Sooyoung bites her lower lip in thought. “I have two weeks free after the end of the month.” 

“Call me in a week, if you’re still thinking about me?”

The flight attendant pulls back a little, both of them blushing when Seulgi follows to tighten her hold.

She thinks about her rules and decides she's been playing safe for too long. If she can feel so much in moments, and a lot more in this one meal they shared together, why miss out on the full experience?

"What's wrong with tonight?"

Seulgi blinks in surprise. "I like being prepared," she answers. The older woman seems unsure of herself and Sooyoung doesn't understand because she's Kang Seulgi. "And I'm afraid if things play out right, I won't let you go."

Sooyoung nearly melts. "If it's any reassurance, I think I won't either."


End file.
